Make a note to attend
Rachel Barton Pine • Photo by Andrew Eccles
Internationally acclaimed violinist Rachel Barton Pine will be the featured artist as the Newport Symphony Orchestra continues its current season with a weekend of performances this Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 17 and 18.
The program will open with Manuel de Falla’s “Spanish Dance No. 1” from the opera “La Vida Breve.” Though drawn from a tragic story of love and betrayal, the piece itself is bright, rhythmic and joyful, offering a vivid introduction to the evening.
The opera tells the story of Salud, a gypsy girl who is passionately in love with a wealthy man named Paco. He is engaged to be married to someone else and has kept this secret from her. Once the truth is known, Salud and her uncle crash the wedding party and confront the man and his new bride. Paco rejects Salud and in grand opera fashion, she dies of a broken heart and collapses at his feet. And yet, in spite of the context, the “Spanish Dance No. 1” is a pleasing and joyful work.
The orchestra will move from opera to ballet with Igor Stravinsky’s suite from “Pulcinella,” a playful and elegant work drawn from music Stravinsky later reshaped into one of his most enduring orchestral suites. Stravinsky was very pragmatic in expanding his publishing rights by taking the music he was commissioned to write for the ballet and re-editing it into suites. As a result, “The Firebird,” “The Rite of Spring,” “Petrushka” and “Pulcinella” all have stunning orchestral suites that are standards in the orchestral repertoire. The suite being performed beautifully retains the playfulness of Pulcinella and his friends as they fall in and out of love depicted with music written in the neoclassical style.
The program will then return to opera with John Adams’ “The Chairman Dances” from “Nixon in China.” Inspired by President Richard Nixon’s historic 1972 visit to China, the piece imagines a surreal scene in which Chairman Mao steps out of his portrait to dance a foxtrot with Madame Mao. The music blends propulsive rhythms with unexpected humor and a distinctly American voice. Listen closely and you can hear a gramophone winding down and the piece comes to an end.
The concert will conclude with Alexander Glazunov’s Violin Concerto, performed by Pine. Described by The New York Times as “striking and charismatic” and by the Washington Post as a performer who "displays a power and confidence that puts her in the top echelon,” Pine is known for her dazzling technique, rich tone and emotional depth. She has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras, and the Glazunov concerto’s sweeping lyricism and technical brilliance will showcase her artistry throughout.
Saturday’s performance begins at 7:30 pm and Sunday’s performance begins at 2 pm at the Newport Performing Arts Center, located at 777 W Olive Street. Tickets range from $45 to $70, or $10 for students. For more information, go to coastarts.com or call 541-265-2787.